


Siege

by Thannis



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-02
Updated: 2015-01-02
Packaged: 2018-03-04 23:02:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3095828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thannis/pseuds/Thannis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mount Justice has come under siege. By Robin</p>
            </blockquote>





	Siege

**Author's Note:**

> I normally post my work over at FFNET under Eternal Headache, but had heard quite a bit about this site and thought I would check it out. This fic is actually a second version of a fic I did back in 2011, which can be found on my FFNET acct if interested. My muse recently woke up and decided I needed to do this second version for some reason. Gives me hope for a couple of fics I thought long dead. Anyway, hope you enjoy! Warning: Not beta'd. I tried to catch all errors and hope any I didn't catch aren't too bad.

Siege (Version 2)

Jackson Roberts was a thug. Well, that was the simplest, most basic term for it. If one wanted to be a little less...brutish about it, he was a hired gun of many talents. Body guard, hitman, obtainer of...whatever you happened to need. You could say that he was a 'jack of all trades.' Whatever he was, he was very good at what he did and his services didn't come cheap. And he was careful about who he worked for. He tended to avoid those who attracted the 'cape and long underwear crowd,' opting for lower profile clients. After all, what good was being paid well if you were stuck doing ten to twenty at Black Gate or something? Hard to enjoy the fruits of one's labor in an eight by ten cell.

Currently, he was playing body guard and errand boy to a strange man who Jackson was certain was on the fast track to joining the Mad Scientist club of America. Not normally the type of client Jackson usually went for, but far enough under the radar that he felt the risk was acceptable. With a few terms of course. One being that Jackson never know the man's real name and would refer to him only as 'Doc.' The second being that if 'Doc' started moving into 'unacceptable risk' territory, that Jackson would immediately be given the rest of his pay and released from their contract. No hard feelings. Which Jackson was starting to suspect was going to happen.

Three months earlier, Doc had abruptly moved them from his rather comfortable street level lab to a location deep underground, among a labyrinth of unused hidden rooms, and had asked Jackson to recruit at least six other, trustworthy men. Apparently, he was getting close to a breakthrough in whatever he was working on and was going to require extra manpower very soon. So, Jackson had done as requested, bringing in six men that he trusted, wondering what the Doctor could possibly be doing that would require so many extra hands. It was not long after that, that Jackson was asked to find some 'volunteers.' Knowing what that meant, Jackson and his men had targeted the homeless and drug addicted, though were careful to select only those who would not be missed.

They spent the next three months down in the underground lab, assisting the Doc when he needed it and sometimes running up to the surface to get something that he required, or to dump the body of a volunteer who had not survived the Doc's experiments. Though the nature of the Doc's experiments made the deaths look like drug overdoses, Jackson was starting to grow concerned that someone was going to start question the abnormal number of overdoses and attract the wrong attention. That, and they were running low on guinea pigs. There were only so many targets that wouldn't be missed before one had to start browsing the more dangerous 'goods.'

It was as he was wondering if they would have to start going to other cities that his thoughts were interrupted by excited, crazed laughter. He raised an eyebrow as the Doc's voice shouted, "Jackson! Jackson!" and hurried from the room he was currently in and into the main lab to find the Doc standing next to a table littered with 'science stuff,' giggling away as he loaded something into what looked like dart gun.

"At last! At last!" he was saying as he loaded more into the gun. He looked up and spotted Jackson and smiled widely. "I've done it, Jackson, I've done it! After all this time, all this work, I've finally done it! Get the others and get the mobile command unit ready. We're going on a little road trip. It's likely going to take a few days to catch my intended target."

Jackson nodded, pulling out a walkie-talkie and passing the instructions on. He then eyed the Doc and asked, "Just who is your 'intended target' anyway? Who's worth all this trouble we've been going to?"

The manic grin that the Doc gave him actually sent a shiver up Jackson's spine. Though the answer made his entire body go cold. "Robin, the famous Boy Wonder."

Jackson stared the Doc, certain he had heard wrong. "I'm sorry, did I hear you right? Did you just say you're intending on using whatever that is on Robin, son of the *Batman.”*

Doc chuckled and nodded as he started carefully putting things that he would need into some boxes. "Yes, lad, you heard correctly. Which is why, once we have completed our task, you will receive the rest of your payment, along with a handsome bonus and released from my employ." He picked up one of the boxes and gently handed it to Jackson. "Now, if you don't mind, please take this to the mobile command unit, then bring a couple of the others back to help with the rest of this."

Jackson did as asked, contemplating what his next move was going to be once he took his leave of the very crazy Doc. Given the fact that Doc was messing with the Bat, Jackson decided it would be wise to get out of the country and go underground for a while. Deep underground. Australia sounded appealing. He'd always wanted to visit the Land Down Under.

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

Artemis rose with the sun that morning, too eager for this much anticipated day to waste any of it sleeping. Today was to be a day of relaxation for her and the other members of Young Justice. A day of just hanging out and bonding with each other on personal levels rather than professional. No training. Just fun. A hard earned, and thus, well deserved break after all the training and missions they had undergone lately. It was a day they'd all been looking forward to. Even their resident workaholic hacker, Robin.

A small smile touched her lips. A year ago, if someone had told her that she would actually be looking forward to hanging out and *bonding* with other teenage heroes, she would have laughed. And then proceeded to beat the daylights out of whoever had said it. But, since joining Young Justice, things had changed. *She* had changed. She actually enjoyed being on a team and liked her teammates. Maybe one a *little* more than the others, but she wasn't about to admit that. Not now anyway. Not until she was just a little more certain about his own feelings...

Shaking herself from her thoughts, she got up and dressed, took care of a few chores, then left her apartment and headed for the Young Justice headquarters, hidden away in the massive caverns of Mount Justice.

Superboy and M'gann, their resident clone and Martian, were already there when she arrived, of course, and greeted her as per usual. Superboy with his customary blank stare and M'gann with bubbling enthusiasm. M'gann had already started baking, as per her strange obsession, and Artemis took a seat at the counter, chatting idly with her friend as the green skinned girl whirled around the kitchen, waiting for the rest of their teammates to arrive.

Kaldur arrived about an hour later, joining Superboy on the couch and engaging the clone in conversation and, shortly after that, a transmission from Wally came through. "Hey guys! Is Rob there by any chance?"

No," Kaldur answered after a quick glance at the others. "Why? Is something wrong?" he asked in concern as Wally frowned.

"I don't know," the red head replied. "He's not answering his Com. link. I wanted to ask him to loan me his newest commando games."

Kaldur's frown deepened. "Strange," he murmured. "It's not like Robin not to have his Com. link on him."

'Oh no!' Artemis thought. 'No way, Robin, don't you dare! Not today!' Out loud, she said, "Relax guys, this is Robin we're talking about. He probably got involved in something and didn't notice you trying to call him. Just get your butt over here, Wally. You're the fastest kid alive, remember? You can zip him home to get your precious video games later."

"True," Wally replied contemplatively. "All right, then. I just gotta help Uncle Barry finish some experiments up and I'll be right over. See ya in a few!" The transmission ended, and Artemis, seeing the frown still on Kaldur's face, glared at him and said, "Stop it, Kaldur! Today is our day remember? That means no evil plot, mysterious disappearances, kidnapping or any other thing that doesn't involve videos, food, sand and water! Robin is fine and will be here with bells on if he knows what's good for him! Understand?"

Kaldur and Superboy were both looking at her with wide eyes and both nodded as M'gann giggled and resumed her baking. Satisfied, Artemis turned back to face the Martian, hiding the tiny feeling of trepidation growing in the pit of her stomach.

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

The large RV or 'Mobile Command Unit' sat hidden behind a bill board, the occupants patiently waiting for their target. It had been two days since they had left the underground lab and had traveled to this particular spot that Robin was known to travel when heading to the base that he and his friends used. At least two of them were on constant watch, quickly locking onto and identifying any traveler detected. Little conversation was exchanged as they watched, knowing that if they missed him, it could be days or even weeks more before they got another chance.

 

It was about mid-morning when they finally caught their break. The surveillance system alerted them to an oncoming vehicle and, quickly grabbing some high powered binoculars, Jackson spotted the target and quickly confirmed that it was Robin. Everyone immediately jumped into action with Jackson and two others, faces carefully disguised, hurriedly leaving the RV and over to the broken down van they had brought with them. He raised the hood and, with the push of a button, steam began pouring out. The trio quickly began pretending to work on the broken down ride, only looking up when the sound of a bike pulling up next to them reached their ears.

"Hey guys," Robin greeted, eyeing the scene. "Everything okay?"

The three looked at each other, eyes widening just as they had rehearsed. "Holy crap! You're Robin!" one of Jackson's men exclaimed, causing the Boy Wonder to smile a little sheepishly.

"Yeah, that's me. Having car trouble, huh?"

"Yeah," Jackson replied, giving the van a disgusted look. "Just had this hunk of junk fixed, too. I can't tell what the problem is."

"Maybe I can help," Robin replied, getting off his bike and approaching the van. The trio moved back to give him some room, watching as he activated the computer he kept on his wrist, which instantly began running an diagnostic on the van. Jackson quietly signaled to the other two and carefully released the club he had hidden up his sleeve. Robin frowned as he looked at the readouts. "Hey, what...?" He never finished the sentence as Jackson quickly used the club, the other two swiftly catching the boy before he hit the ground.

Gathering their prize up, they ran back to the RV and the waiting Doc, who had them place the unconscious boy on a table where he began injecting him with various different formulas, giggling softly to himself as he did. After one injection, Robin began thrashing. Surprisingly, it took all of them to hold him down, and when he finally stopped, he was so still that Jackson asked, "Is he alive?"

"Yes, he's fine," Doc replied, feeling the boy's pulse. "Nice and strong. Keep holding him down, boys. This last injection is going to give him more convulsions and we don't want him hurting himself." He snickered, as though he found his words quite amusing, then injected Robin a final time. As warned, Robin started thrashing again, though this time, he also began screaming. Whatever he had been injected with seemed to be causing him immense pain. The thrashing and screaming went on for several minutes before Robin finally went quiet again, breaths coming in soft little pants.

The Doc signaled that it was okay to let Robin go, who was now semi-conscious and looking at them. He leaned down close to him, gently stroking his dark hair as he murmured, "There, there now lad. It's all over now." A water bottle appeared in his hand and he gently helped Robin drink. Then, he leaned in close and began softly whispering in Robin's ear. This went on for some time, with the Doc quietly whispering in the Boy Wonder's ear while occasionally giving him water that Jackson was starting to suspect was spiked with something.

Finally, after a couple of hours, the Doc seemed satisfied that whatever he had been trying to do had worked and stood up, motioning Jackson over. "Take the boy back to his bike and send him on his way. Then come back here and we shall conclude our business."

Jackson nodded and, together with one of the other men, guided Robin back to his bike, watching as the dazed teenager obediently mounted the bike and took off.

"Australia, here I come," he muttered.

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

That feeling of trepidation had grown by lunch time. Wally had called to announce that he was on his way and would be there shortly with pizza but Robin had still not arrived, nor had he called. Artemis, now on the couch with Superboy and Kaldur, was struggling not to give in to the urge to call the youngest member of their team, when the lights suddenly went out, the emergency lights came on, and a pleasant female voice announced that Mount Justice was now under lock down.

Kaldur frowned. "Computer, why are we under lock down?" 

"Under the authority of Robin," came the answer, prompting the exchange of surprised looks.

Despite the feeling in her stomach, Artemis rolled her eyes and stood. "All right, Robin, Kid Mouth," she called out. "What are you two up to?"

Understanding dawned in Kaldur's eyes and he called out, "Robin, Wally, you've had your fun. Come out now so we can eat and enjoy the day."

The only answer was Robin's distinctive laughter, echoing throughout the cave. For some reason, it sent shivers through all present, and the group exchanged glances before Kaldur called out in an annoyed voice, "Computer, override lockdown, authorization Aqualad 003 Alpha 45."

"Negative," the computer responded. "All other authorization codes have been disabled by Robin."

"What the hell is he doing?" Artemis asked, about to call out to Robin again when Superboy said, "Why don't we ask him?" They looked at the clone, who was looking upwards but when they tried to follow his gaze, none could see what he was looking at.

"I see you, Robin!" Superboy called, which prompted another laugh. Before anyone could react, a blur of red and yellow dropped down among them, disappearing within a matter of seconds and leaving Kaldur flat on his back, blinking up at them in surprise.

"Robin!" Artemis exclaimed as she moved to give Kaldur a hand up. "What the hell!"

Another laugh drew the group's attention to the doorway, where Robin stood in full uniform, head down, one had pressed against the wall as if in support.

"Robin?" M'gann asked, starting toward him in concern but stopping when Superboy snatched her arm.

"Wait," he murmured, narrowing his eyes and sniffing the air. "I smell..." He trailed off as Robin raised his head and they all drew in quick breaths. Thin trails of blood leaked down from beneath Robin's mask, his right nostril and the left corner of his mouth. His too pale skin glistened with sweat even in the dim light of the room, and all could feel threat radiating from him. Clearly, he had some kind of illness and it was affecting his mind.

'Typical,' Artemis thought as her body tensed, ready to move. 'Our one day off in ages and, naturally, something happens to one of us.' 

Her gaze flicked to Kaldur as the older boy called out, "Robin?" subtlety signaling the others to be ready to move. "Can you hear me? You need help. Let us help you."

A low snarl and baring of teeth was the only answer, and only warning they got, before Robin attacked. He was fast and vicious and seemed to be everywhere at once with his constant disappearing and reappearing. Artemis found herself disoriented trying to keep track of his movements, wishing she had her arrows or even a few gas pellets to try and slow him down.

Kaldur, ever the leader and protector, attempted to keep Robin's attention on himself, trying to buy the others time to either disable Robin or summon help. Having trained and fought together for several months now, Kaldur was more than familiar with Robin's skills, but was completely unprepared for just how abnormally fast Robin had become. Fear of hurting his young friend forced Kaldur to hold back, which cost him dearly. In a matter of minutes, Kaldur was on the floor in an unconscious, bloody heap.

Upon seeing Kaldur go down, M'gann attempted attacking their youngest with her mind. However, she did not encounter the mind she expected...the mind she knew. She gasped in fright when all she found was rage. Such terrible, terrible rage. And it all turned on her as her attempted attack drew his attention. With a little shriek of fear, she put up a barrier as he launched himself at her. When he encountered the resistance, he snarled in rage and began to savagely attack it. Eyes wide in terror, she watched as Artemis and Superboy drew Robin away, and she took the opportunity to reach out to her uncle.

'Uncle J'onn!' she cried out upon making contact. 'We need help in the cave! Robin is attacking us!'

'Calm down, M'gann,' J'onn replied. 'What is happening? Why is Robin attacking?'

'I...I don't know! He...he looks sick,' M'gann replied, watching as Artemis and Superboy fought to keep Robin away from her. 'There is blood coming from his eyes, nose and mouth and when I tried to subdue him mentally, it was like there was no mind to subdue! It just made him angrier!' Her gaze moved to Aqualad's unmoving form and she added, 'Kaldur is down! He's not moving!' She let out another shriek as Superboy crashed into her barrier, distracting her enough that it collapsed. Robin was on her immediately, and she didn't have a chance to defend herself before pain exploded in her head and darkness claimed her.

"Shit!" Artemis hissed as she saw M'gann go down. Her eyes widened as she saw a small blade appear in Robin's hand, intent very clear as he stared at M'gann. Thinking fast, she threw a lamp at him, backing up quickly as he turned his gaze on her.

Come on!" she shouted to Superboy, certain that if they ran, the seemingly possessed Boy Wonder would follow. Superboy looked reluctant to run, but she grabbed his hand and shouted, "Come on! We have to get him away from the others! We can't risk hurting them more than they are!"

With a frustrated growl, Superboy nodded and the pair hurried off, disappearing down the dark tunnels, a demented teammate hot on their heels.

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

 

Wally hummed happily as he sped down the road, several boxes of hot pizza balanced perfectly in his arms. He was still a little worried that he hadn't been able to get Rob on the Com. link and had actually considered dropping by Wayne Manor to check on his friend, but the experiments with uncle Barry had gone on longer than planned and the others were waiting. The younger boy would likely be along shortly, so Wally had dashed for the pizza place and headed straight out from there.

He skidded to a halt outside the Mountain entrance and keyed in his code, waiting for the force that would sweep him inside. But nothing happened. Frowning, he put the code in again and when there was still no response, he muttered, "What the hell?" Activating his Com. link, he said, "Yo, guys! I'm outside and security won't let me through. What gives?" When no one replied, he huffed in annoyance and tried again. "Guys? Hello? Anyone hear me in there?"

Nothing. His frown deepening, he put the boxes down and did a quick sweep of the Mountain, checking the back entrance and the tricky to get to secret entrance. Still no luck. Muttering a curse, he switched frequencies on his Com. link and said, "Hey, Batman, you reading me? It's Kid Flash. I'm outside headquarters and something's going on. I can't get in."

Nothing happened for a few seconds, then the area around Wally lit up and he felt the pull of a teleportation beam as the world around him vanished, replaced seconds later by the walls of the Justice League Watchtower. "Whoa," he breathed, looking around with wide eyes.

"Wally."

He spun around and found J'onn standing behind him. "J'onn!" he exclaimed. "What's going on? Why couldn't I get into the Mountain? Why is the Com. link down? Why...?"

His rambling questions stuttered to a halt as J'onn held up a hand and said simply, "Follow me," before turning and moving down a hallway. The Martian led him into the monitoring room and his gaze quickly found Batman seated at the council, rapidly typing away. "Batman!" he exclaimed. "What's going on?"

"Mount Justice is under attack," Batman replied curtly and Wally's eyebrows jumped so high they nearly disappeared into his bright red hair.

"What? How? By who?"

"Robin."

Wally froze, eyes growing huge with disbelief. "Uh...come again?"

"I received a telepathic distress call from M'gann five minutes ago," J'onn answered as Batman continued to type in commands. "She stated that Robin was attacking them and that he appeared ill. Mount Justice is under lock down and Batman is currently attempting to access the surveillance systems."

Wally blinked, staring at the tall Martian. "Y...you're serious."

"As a heart attack," Batman answered. "Look."

Wally and J'onn quickly turned their attention to the monitors and Wally's heart clenched with fear when his gaze zeroed in on trashed common room and two members of his team laying unmoving on the floor. "A...are they...?"

"Sensors indicate that they're alive," Batman replied, typing in a few more commands. Movement on one of the other monitors drew their attention away and Wally drew in a quick breath when he spotted Superboy and Artemis frantically engaged in a fight with an enemy he couldn't see. "Where's..."

Oh, there he was. Robin appeared on the screen and Wally's eyes widened again at the sight of his friend. "Holy..."

"He does appear to be ill," J'onn commented and Wally snorted. "Ill is an understatement," he said, his scientific mind kicking into gear. He leaned in, trying to get a better look. "I'd say some kind of suped up retro virus."

"Agreed," Batman murmured, switching to different views of the room the trio were currently trashing. He was impressed with how well Artemis was holding up against his surrogate son, considering all she had going for her was raw skill. He would have to remember to have Black Canary step up non powered combat training for the others when this was over.

"Jeeze," Wally breathed, eyes glued to Robin. "Look at him go. I don't remember him being that fast."

"He isn't," Batman replied. "Whatever has infected him must have enhanced his speed, and likely his strength too. That has me worried. Sensors indicate his body temperature is much too high and getting higher. We have to get in there, subdue him and get rid of this thing before it kills him."

"And before he kills one of the others," Wally murmured, watching as the fight left the range of the current camera, reappearing on another a second later. He watched for a moment before looking anxiously at Batman. "So, what's the plan?"

"I'm working on something that will undo the damage Robin has caused to the cave's systems, as well as attempting to gain us access via the Watchtower's teleporter," Batman replied. He reached over and grabbed a sensor recorder and passed it to Wally. "I have the cave sensors feeding what they are detecting of the status of Robin's body. I need you and J'onn to monitor it and determine what type of tranquilizer will bring him down safely and how much to use. Do it quickly. Based on these readings, I don't know how much time we have."

"You know me and quick," Wally replied, taking the recorder and zipping from the room, only to come back a second later with a sheepish look. "Uh...where are we going, J'onn?"

J'onn, fully aware of just how worried Batman was, paused to lightly squeeze his friend's shoulder before leaving the room to show Wally where the labs were.

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

Thirty six minutes. That was how long Artemis estimated had passed since Robin had launched his surprise attack, and she had Conner had fled to get him away from their injured teammates. Several minutes had been spent fighting in various rooms, and at one point, she'd jumped on the chance to duck into her own room and grab her bow and arrows. Not that they had been much help against Robin. He'd manage to avoid everything she threw at him and it was only thanks to Conner that she still conscious and able to provide what little help she could.

Currently, she and Superboy were hiding in the training room, having lost Robin a few minutes earlier, in an attempt to regroup and catch their breath.

"This is unreal," Superboy muttered softly. "I should have been able to take him down, but I can't even touch him! It...it's like he's developed super powers or something!"

"You may not be far off the mark," Artemis whispered back. "It's like he's been turned into a zombie!"

Now there was a frightening thought. From what she knew of zombies, they were relentless and difficult to defeat if you weren't willing to outright kill them. And even if you were, it was still crazy hard. God help them if that was truly what Robin had become. Which begged the question, if he was a zombie, who had done it to him, and could any of them be next?

"Come on," she muttered. "Where the hell is back up? The League have to know what's happened by now, right?"

Conner shifted next to her, as if trying to decide how to answer. He suddenly tensed, then shouted, "Move!" as he shoved her hard, which threw her several feet away. She instinctively went into a roll, coming up in a ready crouch, looking up to find Robin where she had just been, a sword jammed into the floor.

'Where the hell did he get a sword from?' she thought as she scrambled to her feet and reached for one of the few arrows she had left.

"Artemis, go!" Superboy shouted as he launched himself at Robin. "Find a way out and see where back up is!"

"No way!" Artemis protested. "I'm not leaving you!"

"I'll be fine!" Superboy snapped back. "He can't hurt me, now go!"

Artemis hesitated and Superboy roared out, "GO!" as he narrowly avoided a strike from Robin. She nodded shortly, then turned and fled, hearing another roar from Superboy as he continued to engage their youngest member.

Her intent was to run back to the common room to check on Kaldur and M'gann. If M'gann was conscious, perhaps she could get in telepathic communication with the League and confirm that they were aware of what was happening. She didn't get that far, however, as it appeared that Robin had been busy while she and Conner had been hiding. Tear gas suddenly erupted from little pellets that she hadn't seen on the floor in her rush to get to her friends, enveloping her. Covering her mouth and coughing as tears sprang into her eyes, she turned and ran back the other way, only to encounter a concussion grenade that sent her slamming into the wall. Pain exploded in her head as she slumped to the floor, disoriented.

"Artemis!"

Somewhere in fog and ringing that dominated her head, she thought she heard her name being called. She tried to look up and find the source of the voice, but the pain of the movement caused her to squeeze her eyes shut, a soft whimper escaping her lips. She was only vaguely aware of strong hands lifting her, then a confusion of movement and pain and...

"Artemis? Artemis, can you hear me? Please, open your eyes."

She groaned and shifted. She knew that voice. Trusted that voice. Why did it sound so urgent? She groaned again and forced her eyes open, watching as a blood coated Kaldur swam into view as her fuzzy vision slowly cleared. "Ka...Kaldur? What...?" Memory came flooding back to her and, with a gasp, she grabbed his arm. "Kaldur! Are you okay? Where's M'gann?" She glanced around, not recognizing their surroundings and followed up with, "Where are we?"

"Shhh," Kaldur whispered. "We are currently in the cave's heating ducts. I am not badly hurt. M'gann is still in the common room. I was forced to leave her there when I could not rouse her to go in search of you and Conner. I found you after you had set off some traps Robin must have set and pulled you in here to hide and recover."

Artemis gingerly touched her head, pulling her hand away when she felt wetness and discovered that she was bleeding. "I don't think it's too bad," Kaldur whispered. Sounds of fighting reached their ears and they looked up, listening for a few seconds before Kaldur said, "Unfortunately, aid will have to wait. We cannot linger here. We must try to get back to M'gann and rouse her to summon help."

Artemis nodded. "That's what I was trying to do when I got caught in Robin's booby traps," she murmured as the pair began slowly crawling through the ducts in search of a way out. Eventually, they came out in what Artemis recognized as one of the storage rooms. Kaldur helped her down, but when she tried to head for the door, he quickly grabbed her arm, stopping her. Artemis looked at him in confusion, taking note of the way his head was tilted as if listening. "What?"

"I have not heard the sounds of Robin and Conner fighting for a few minutes now," he murmured back, concern in his eyes.

Artemis frowned, listening as well. "Maybe that's a good thing," she finally said hesitantly. "Maybe Conner managed to subdue him."

"Perhaps," Kaldur replied, hesitant to attempt communication with the clone. He stayed silent a moment, trying to listen for signs of life. Silence reigned. Finally, he looked at Artemis and said quietly, "Let's go. But be very cautious."

Artemis nodded and started for the door, only to freeze in her tracks when footsteps reached her ears. She looked at Kaldur with wide eyes. Could it be Conner or one of the League? Robin wouldn't have allowed himself to be heard. Normally at least. But since Robin wasn't exactly normal the moment...

By unspoken agreement, the pair quickly hid among the various boxes, crates and other junk that filled the room, listening carefully. The footsteps continued and, as they listened, it sounded to both teens as though whoever it was, was pacing outside the door. Neither dared move to see who it was, staying completely still and silent. Both tensed when they heard the door open and someone enter, moving about the room. Artemis' already pounding heart jumped into her throat when, after a few seconds, there came a quiet giggle. She looked frantically at Kaldur across the way from her, who put a finger to his lips and a made a 'stay put' motion with his hand. Though he couldn't quite hide the fear that slipped into his eyes when Robin spoke.

"I know you're here," the boy said in a low, strange voice. "I can smell you. Both of you. I'm going to cut you open and eat your insides. And I'm going to send your spleens to G.A. and Aquaman." He giggled again, then added, "And I think I'll make a new cape out of your intestines. Maybe a couple of matching hats." There was a few seconds of silence, then Artemis  
shrieked in fright as Robin suddenly appeared next to her. She ducked and darted forward, just barely managing to avoid the sword strike that would have taken her head clean off.

Laughing, Robin launched himself at her, only to encounter Kaldur's Water-Bearers. A jet of water struck the Boy Wonder, throwing him back and into some crates. Artemis quickly took advantage, firing off an arrow from which a net exploded. Much to her frustration, Robin recovered too fast and simply sliced the net apart in midair. "Your resistance is fun," he whispered before attacking once again, focusing on Kaldur.

Anger flooded Artemis as she finally reached her breaking point. While Kaldur kept Robin engaged, she picked up an object and waited for her chance. When it came, she darted forward and slammed her weapon down on Robin's head, watching in surprise as he actually crumpled to the floor. Kaldur blinked, equally surprised as he looked between Artemis and Robin. Both jumped and spun around as someone burst into the room, sighing in relief when they saw Conner. The clone looked between the three, gazing at Robin's prone form before asking, "You two okay?"

"We will be once we contact the League and get Robin some help," Kaldur replied. As he put his weapons away and moved to gather Robin up, Conner became alarmed.

"He's not unconscious!" he shouted just a second before Robin suddenly sprang up, driving his foot into Kaldur's stomach as the sword, still held tightly in his grip, sliced Artemis in the arm. She cried out and fell back, clutching her wounded arm as Conner immediately sprang into action and the fighting started anew.

Kaldur appeared at her side, gripping her uninjured arm and hurriedly guiding her to the door. "Quickly, Artemis! Conner and I will keep Robin busy. Get back to M'gann and summon help. Watch for booby traps! Go!" Without giving her much choice in the matter, he shoved her out the door and slammed it shut.

In too much pain to argue, Artemis turned and hurried down the hall back toward the common room, keeping careful watch for booby traps. Upon making it back without further injury, she spotted M'gann, still on the floor and, thankfully, starting to come around. "M'gann! M'gann!" she called, kneeling down next to the Martian and giving her a light shake, ignoring the blood coating her hand.

"Artemis!"

She jumped up and spun around, dropping into a defensive position, nearly collapsing in relief when she saw who it was. "Wally! Batman! Oh, am I glad to see you!"

It was a testament to how worried Wally was that he didn't make any of his usual wisecracks. Instead, he hurried up to her, looking from her to M'gann, who Batman was helping to sit up and speaking quietly to before asking, "You okay?" even as he took in her obvious injuries.

Shaking her head, Artemis exclaimed, "No! I am so far from okay right now! Robin..."

"We know," Batman cut her off, helping M'gann to her feet and guiding her to the couch. "M'gann contacted J'onn and told him what was happening. We managed to get into the security feed to get a visual on what was happening."

"You have plan, I hope."

"Of course," Wally replied with a grim smile. "We wouldn't bust in here with Robin acting all Predator without a plan!"

"Batman," Artemis said, turning to Robin's guardian. "Robin...It's like he's a zombie or something! I hit him over the head hard enough to knock him out, but he bounced back like it was nothing!"

"Where is he now?" Batman questioned as he gave Artemis' injuries a quick examination.

"Fighting with Kaldur and Conner in one of the storage rooms. At least they were five minutes ago. They could have gone elsewhere by now. I doubt they'll be hard to find."

"All right," Batman replied, reaching into his utility belt and pulling out a USB stick. "Take this, go to the communications room and plug it into the computer. It'll repair the damage Robin did. Once the system is unlocked, call the Watchtower and update them. Have J'onn and Flash teleport down here. I may require their assistance." He glanced at M'gann, then added, "Take Miss Martian with you, and when you're done, head to the medical lab and wait. This won't take long."

Expecting his orders to be followed, Batman didn't wait for an answer as he turned and ran off down the hall in search of Robin. Wally reached out and gave Artemis' uninjured arm a gentle squeeze, followed by a reassuring smile, then hurried after the bat.

Left alone, Artemis turned to M'gann, who appeared to be recovering quickly now. "I hope you can walk, M'gann, cause I'm in no shape to support you right now," she said, even as she offered the other girl a hand up.

M'gann smiled faintly as she stood. "I'll be okay," she replied, casting a worried look at Artemis' own injuries before her gaze rested on the USB stick. "Let's get that to computer so we can summon the League."

Artemis nodded and the pair made their way to the communications room as fast as they could, keeping a careful watch for any more of Robin's traps along the way.

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

It didn't take long for Batman and Wally to find Robin, Kaldur and Conner. The fight had spilled out of the storage room and into a much bigger area. Conner, of course, was uninjured, but both Kaldur and Robin were bleeding heavily. Wally could easily see that the blood loss was starting to affect Kaldur, but Robin was still going strong despite everything. Though Wally had no idea how considering how absolutely white Robin was. Not to mention his heavily labored breathing.

"Wally." He tore his gaze from Robin and looked up at Batman, who was also studying the scene. "Be ready to tranq him once I have him distracted."

Wally nodded and positioned himself so that Robin couldn't see him as Batman moved further into the room.

"Enough!" the Dark Knight shouted and all fighting immediately ceased, the three combatants looking up.

"Batman!" Kaldur exclaimed in relief. Everything would be all right now that Robin's guardian was here...

"Batman," Robin breathed, turning toward his mentor with a tiny grin. He sniffed the air and the grin turned predatory as his gaze moved to where Wally had positioned himself. "I smell you, Wally," he hissed, causing Wally's eyes to widen. "I'm going to redecorate the cave with your blood," the Boy Wonder continued when Wally didn't show himself. "I'm going to..."

"Enough!" Batman spoke sharply. "Kaldur, Conner, leave now."

The teens exchanged glances, then quickly obeyed, joining Wally when they spotted him. The trio watched as Batman and Robin faced off, Wally clutching the tranquilizer tightly as he waited for his chance. It seemed like forever that the pair stood there, staring at each other. Then, suddenly and without warning, they erupted into a flurry of motion, engaging in fast paced hand to hand combat. Robin had, luckily, lost the sword at some point in his fight with Kaldur and Conner.

Normally, a fight between the dynamic duo would have been something to see, but time was of the essence, and Wally didn't allow it to continue more than a minute before he sped in and injected Robin with the high dose of tranquilizer that he and J'onn had come up with. It took a little more time than he had anticipated to take effect but, just when he thought he might need to get more, Robin stumbled, a confused expression filling his face before he collapsed to the ground and went still.

"Be careful, Batman!" Kaldur warned as the Dark Knight approached his ward. "We had thought that Artemis had knocked him out earlier, but he had merely been toying with us."

"It's okay," Wally reassured as Batman knelt down and carefully felt Robin's pulse. "J'onn and I came up with a tranquilizer based on what the scanners told us. There was enough in that shot to take down a seriously pissed of Rhino. Hopefully, we can figure out what's wrong with him now and reverse it."

"Wally." The trio looked over at Batman, who had gathered Robin up and was now moving toward them. "Go see if Artemis and M'gann got the computers back up, then make sure the medical lab is prepared."

Wally nodded, looking quickly at Kaldur and then Robin before turning and rushing off. In the communications room, he found J'onn and Red Tornado, busily working on the computers. "We got Robin," he reported to the pair. "Batman's on his way to the medical wing with him."

"Acknowledged," J'onn replied. "Black Canary is in the medical wing with M'gann and Artemis. I will join you shortly."

Wally nodded and then sped over to the medical lab, where Black Canary was tending to Artemis while M'gann watched from where she sat on another bed. "Wally!" both exclaimed in unison when they saw him.

He held up a hand and said, "We got him. Batman's on his way with him." He looked around thoughtfully, then said, mostly to himself, "I think an isolation unit is going to be an order here."

As the girls watched, he zipped around the room, setting up was going to be needed, finishing just as Batman entered with Robin in his arms. Conner and Kaldur entered after him, Conner supporting Kaldur, who looked ready to pass out. He was placed in a bed and, as Black Canary began a quick examination, J'onn and Flash entered the room, immediately heading for where Batman and Wally were working on Robin. There was a quick conversation, then Wally was sent to help with Kaldur and the girls while the three Leaguers began running extensive tests on the team's youngest member.

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

Seven grueling, stressful days of worry passed before a breakthrough was made and a cure for the mysterious illness plaguing Robin was developed. He had been moved to the Watchtower during that time for its superior medical lab, and S.T.A.R. Labs had been brought in to help. Robin had been kept unconscious as it seemed that, whatever had infected him had reverted to an extremely bad fever. Testing had suggested that, if they woke him before destroying the virus running rampant within him, that the illness would come to a head a kill him.

Upon injection Robin with the formula that had been carefully developed, the effect was almost immediate. His harsh, pain filled breathing eased and his temperature started to fall. Within three hours, he was almost back to normal, but they waited another two days before allowing him to wake up, giving him three more injections of the formula to ensure everything last bit of the virus had been eradicated. When he woke, he was, naturally, confused.

"W-Where am I? What am I d-doing here?" he whispered, blinking up at Batman who was bent over him and running a gentle hand through his dark hair. "What happened?"

"You've been very sick for the last week," Batman answered. "What's the last thing you remember?"

Robin frowned, struggling with a very patchy memory. "I...I was on my way to the cave. There was this van that was broken down on the side of the road. I...I stopped to help and..." he trailed off, his frown deepening. "I can't remember anything after that. How did I get here?"

"I'll tell you later. Your team is anxious to see you. Are you up for it?"

Robin thought about it for a few seconds, then nodded. Batman gave his hand a gentle squeeze and said, "I'll be back shortly." He headed out to where he knew the other kids waited, having insisted on being there when they learned that Robin would be waking up. "You can see him now, but don't stay long and don't tell him what happened. He doesn't need to know this soon. I'll tell him myself when he's ready. Understood?"

The teens nodded and hurried inside while Batman continued on to where J'onn and Barry waited. "He remembers stopping to help a breakdown on his way to the cave and then nothing else. Clearly, the breakdown was a trap."

"Well, that's a problem, isn't it?" Barry said, looking at J'onn who wore a look of contemplation.

"It will likely be unpleasant, but if he agrees, I will see if I can unlock the memories and see what happened," the Martian said, looking toward the room Robin was being kept in.

"He'll agree," Batman replied confidently. "When he finds out what happened, he'll agree."

And when he learned who was behind the vicious attack that almost claimed his son's life, there would be nowhere on Earth that they could hide. He would find them, and they would live our their days regretting that they had ever been born. It was a promise that he made then and there.

And he always kept his promises.

END


End file.
